— — — — — —
"Our goal is to wipe out the dark guild Eisenwald," Kazuma said flatly. The best way to stop an attack? Kill the enemy before they have a chance to move.
"Got it." Erza gave a firm nod, already braced for a serious fight.
The two of them left the guild in a hurry, heading straight for the station to catch a train to their destination.
---
Meanwhile, back at the guild…
"Lucy, I'm counting on you—go after them." Mirajane leaned over the bar, giving Lucy a mischievous look.
"Mira, please don't joke like that! You heard what those two just said!"
"If I follow them now, I'm scared that once they get excited, they'll casually get rid of me too!"
"I literally just joined the guild! I should be starting with the simplest beginner quests!"
"Look, see? I was just about to accept this herb-gathering job. That's exactly the kind of mission someone at my level should be doing!"
Lucy rejected her instantly. She wasn't suicidal. Tagging along with them right now? She could already picture her tragic death.
"Relax, Lucy. They won't do that to you. And honestly, that duo might just be the strongest team in the guild."
"They're both S-Class mages. They won't even need you to lift a finger. And all you'll have to do is keep an eye on things so they don't go too far. Just… step in to calm them down if needed."
Mira wasn't worried about whether Kazuma and Erza could complete the mission. What she was actually worried about was them slaughtering the entire Eisenwald guild.
"No no nonono—that's exactly the dangerous part! And you want me to step in? With what, my body? Please spare me, Mira!"
Lucy wasn't afraid of the enemy. She was terrified of her own teammates. Those two were the real monsters here.
"Ahh, well, if you don't want to go, I can't force you."
"I just figured, if you helped out, I'd treat you to a month of free meals. Save you a ton of money… but since you're not going, forget it."
Mira sighed dramatically and turned away to get back to work.
"I'LL GO!"
Lucy practically vaulted over the bar to grab her. "Who else but me could keep them in check? I'm great at diffusing tension! Super good at stopping people from doing reckless things!"
"And it's not about the free meals! Totally not about the unlimited free meals for a whole month! I just—really—want to do a mission with Kazuma and Erza!"
"Besides, Kazuma helped me so much. I still owe him a proper apology."
In truth, Lucy had just rented a place and was stone broke. A whole month of free food? That was salvation.
Bickslow leaned in with way too much enthusiasm. "As an apology, I'm with the experts Mira-san and Virgo-chan. The best apology is YOU. Full nude. Wrap yourself up in a big gift box, ribbon and all."
"Throw in a whip, some candles, maybe a few other accessories. If you need props, I can supply them."
"I AM NOT DOING THAT! Get lost!"
Lucy's face went scarlet. If she actually did that, she'd never be able to show her face in public again. She might as well just dig a hole and live in it forever.
"Heh. Perfect. Everything went according to plan."
With her back to Lucy, Mira stuck out her tongue playfully and grinned.
---
On the Train
"So that's what happened. Please take care of me," Lucy said very politely, sitting primly beside Erza and Kazuma.
"Well, sit tight. You staying put is contribution enough. The rest isn't something you can interfere with."
"Erza, you don't need to fight either. Just protect the passengers and keep Lucy safe."
"I'll handle everything else."
Kazuma had already locked onto their first target. He stood up without bothering to hide his killing intent and stepped toward the front of the carriage.
"..."
Erza frowned. She didn't sense anything—but if Kazuma said that, he must have found something.
"Lucy, stick close to me... It could be dangerous later." Erza's tone was deadly serious.
"O-Okay…"
Lucy swallowed hard, gripping her Celestial keys as cold sweat trickled down her forehead.
...
Kazuma reached the front and looked at the man seated there—one who looked suspiciously like Shikamaru Nara, smug version.
"Eisenwald guild?"
The man—Kageyama—froze. His pupils shrank sharply, and his shadow lashed forward like a striking snake.
As expected of an assassin from a dark guild. The instant Kazuma walked toward him, spoke the guild's name, and found him, he didn't hesitate. He didn't ask questions. He went straight for the kill.
"Good. I didn't get the wrong person. Saves me the trouble of worrying about killing the wrong guy."
From the man, Kazuma sensed a thick stench of blood, a sign that he had taken lives. He also sensed the cursed flute known as Lullaby.
He had never seen the Eisenwald members before, so he asked just in case. But the guy practically confessed with his actions.
The moment Kageyama's shadow magic stretched toward him, everything changed. A shadowy ninja emerged from the darkness.
In a split second, a black dagger pierced Kageyama's throat. Two dark hands grabbed his ankles and dragged him into the shadows.
Just like that, a dark guild mage was killed without being able to lift a finger.
"So this is the cursed flute, Lullaby? Trash."
Kazuma didn't even glance at it. He just hurled it out the window with enough force to send it flying far away. The next moment, dozens of magic cannons materialized in the air.
BOOM!BOOM!BOOM!
A heartbeat later, the flute that so many had feared was blown to dust midair. Whatever demon had been sleeping inside it never even had the chance to awaken before being completely erased.
After that, Kazuma calmly returned to his seat. Things were far from over.
"That guy just now… he was a member of Eisenwald?" Erza asked, surprised that Kazuma had handled it so cleanly without alerting anyone.
His strength had grown again—and those cannons, she'd never seen them before. The last time she was in Fairy Tail, Kazuma only fought with swords, even using them like arrows. Later, she'd heard he'd switched to guns.
Kazuman nodded, "Yeah."
"Kazuma, we should have captured him and asked what they were planning. You are too reckless," Erza said, a hint of disapproval in her tone.
"No need. I told you already—our mission this time is to erase Eisenwald."
"I don't care what they're planning."
From the very beginning, this wasn't about stopping Eisenwald from hurting others. The mission was always to exterminate every last one of them.
They dared to target Makarov, the one who treated him like his grandson.
As far as Kazuma was concerned, that sealed their fate.
"If I didn't mistake it, that flute… three eyes engraved on it… that was the Magical Flute of Mass Murder, the Lullaby!"
Lucy shivered. It took her a moment to recall where she'd seen it before—in one of the stories she'd read.
.
.
.